Ethnic People Groups of Zambia

> All Regions / Continents > > Region: > Country:

Country Code (FIPS):

Zambia

People Groups
People Progress
People Photos
Languages
Religions
Ministries
Details

Zambia – People Groups

(Click headings for sorting

)

People Groups (click people name for profile)	Population	Indig	% Evangel	% Adherent	Progress Scale	Primary Religion	Primary Language	Pho	Map	Txt
Afrikaner	104,000		20.00 %	94.00 %	5	Christianity	Afrikaans	0P Afrikaner	1	1
Ambo	4,700	Y●	5.00 %	90.00 %	4	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	1	1	1
Arab, Lebanese	3,900		0.50 %	32.00 %	2	Islam	Arabic, North Levantine Spoken	0P Arab, Lebanese	1	1
Aushi	190,000	Y●	24.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Aushi	0P Aushi	1	1
Bemba	5,043,000	Y●	35.00 %	97.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	0P Bemba	1	1
Bisa	377,000	Y●	22.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	1	1	0T
British	13,000		8.80 %	60.00 %	4	Christianity	English	0P British	1	1
Bwile	106,000	Y●	19.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Bwile	1	1	1
Chokwe	118,000		12.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Chokwe	1	1	1
Cishinga	122,000	Y●	12.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Deaf	142,000	Y●		86.95 %	3	Christianity	Zambian Sign Language	1	1	0T
French	7,800		1.00 %	61.00 %	3	Christianity	French	0P French	1	0T
Greek	11,000		0.40 %	91.00 %	3	Christianity	Greek	0P Greek	1	0T
Gujarati	44,000		0.00 %	0.00 %	1	Hinduism	Gujarati	0P Gujarati	0M Gujarati of Zambia	0T
Han Chinese, Mandarin	52,000		5.70 %	9.00 %	4	Non-Religious	Chinese, Mandarin	0P Han Chinese, Mandarin	1	0T
Ila	185,000	Y●	17.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Ila	0P Ila	1	0T
Italian	13,000		1.10 %	82.00 %	3	Christianity	Italian	0P Italian	1	1
Iwa	8,000	Y●	13.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Nyamwanga	1	1	1
Jew, English-speaking	3,500		0.00 %	0.00 %	1	Ethnic Religions	English	0P Jew, English-speaking	1	0T
Kabende	86,000	Y●	16.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Kaonde	392,000	Y●	28.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Kaonde	1	1	1
Kunda	60,000	Y●	13.00 %	45.00 %	5	Ethnic Religions	Kunda	1	1	1
Kxoe, Xun	200	Y●	3.00 %	8.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Khwedam	0P Kxoe, Xun	0M Kxoe, Xun of Zambia	1
Lala-Bisa	746,000	Y●	22.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	0P Lala-Bisa	1	1
Lamba	377,000	Y●	22.00 %	94.00 %	5	Christianity	Lamba	0P Lamba	1	1
Lamba-Lima	4,300	Y●	22.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Lamba	1	1	1
Lambya, Rambia	19,000	Y●	13.00 %	97.00 %	5	Christianity	Lambya	0P Lambya, Rambia	1	1
Lenje	243,000	Y●	17.00 %	70.00 %	5	Christianity	Lenje	0P Lenje	1	0T
Leya	19,000	Y●	2.00 %	20.00 %	2	Ethnic Religions	Tonga	1	1	1
Lozi	1,186,000	Y●	19.00 %	83.00 %	5	Christianity	Lozi	0P Lozi	1	1
Luano	3,100	Y●	8.00 %	80.00 %	4	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	1	1	1
Luchazi	56,000		40.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Luchazi	0P Luchazi	1	1
Lunda, Luapula	226,000	Y●	18.00 %	93.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Lunda, Northwest	428,000	Y●	21.00 %	88.00 %	5	Christianity	Lunda	0P Lunda, Northwest	1	1
Luvale	325,000	Y●	26.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Luvale	0P Luvale	1	1
Luyana	4,900	Y●	18.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Luyana	1	1	1
Mambwe-Lungu	394,000	Y●	21.00 %	75.00 %	5	Christianity	Mambwe-Lungu	0P Mambwe-Lungu	1	1
Masi	36,000	Y●	13.00 %	40.00 %	5	Ethnic Religions	Mashi	0P Masi	1	1
Mbowe	900	Y●	8.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Mbowe	1	1	0T
Mbukushu	11,000	Y●	20.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Mbukushu	0P Mbukushu	1	1
Mbunda	158,000	Y●	27.00 %	50.00 %	5	Christianity	Mbunda	0P Mbunda	1	1
Mukulu	9,800	Y●	13.00 %	80.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Ndebele	15,000		4.00 %	60.00 %	4	Christianity	Ndebele	0P Ndebele	1	1
Nkoya, Lambya	67,000	Y●	25.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Nkoya	0P Nkoya, Lambya	1	1
Nsenga	770,000	Y●	18.00 %	89.00 %	5	Christianity	Nsenga	0P Nsenga	1	1
Nyamwanga	257,000	Y●	20.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Nyamwanga	0P Nyamwanga	1	1
Nyanja, Chewa	1,915,000	Y●	30.00 %	97.00 %	5	Christianity	Chichewa	0P Nyanja, Chewa	1	0T
Nyiha, Tanzania	778,000	Y●	9.00 %	40.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Nyiha, Tanzania	0P Nyiha, Tanzania	0M Nyiha, Tanzania of Zambia	1
Nyika	10,000	Y●	4.00 %	75.00 %	4	Christianity	Nyika	1	1	1
Portuguese	5,400		3.00 %	94.00 %	4	Christianity	Portuguese	0P Portuguese	1	1
Sala	45,000	Y●	11.00 %	45.00 %	5	Ethnic Religions	Sala	1	1	1
Senga	151,000	Y●	12.00 %	75.00 %	5	Christianity	Tumbuka	1	1	1
Serb	5,200		0.60 %	80.00 %	3	Christianity	Serbian	0P Serb	1	0T
Shasha, Mashasha	2,300	Y●	6.00 %	60.00 %	4	Christianity	Nkoya	1	1	1
Shona	42,000	Y●	12.00 %	60.00 %	5	Christianity	Shona	0P Shona	1	1
Simaa	9,500	Y●	9.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Simaa	1	1	1
Simaa-Imilangu, Mdundulu	6,900	Y●	14.00 %	75.00 %	5	Christianity	Simaa	1	1	1
Simaa-Makoma	27,000	Y●	10.00 %	40.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Simaa	1	1	1
Simaa-Mwenyi	8,700	Y●	12.00 %	45.00 %	5	Ethnic Religions	Simaa	1	1	1
Soli	65,000	Y●	18.00 %	55.00 %	5	Christianity	Soli	0P Soli	1	1
Subia	2,600	Y●	7.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Kuhane	1	1	1
Swahili	47,000		0.00 %	0.00 %	1	Islam	Swahili	0P Swahili	0M Swahili of Zambia	0T
Swahili, Congo	46,000		3.00 %	16.00 %	4	Islam	Swahili, Congo	1	1	1
Swaka	72,000	Y●	18.00 %	84.00 %	5	Christianity	Lala-Bisa	1	1	1
Tabwa	52,000		14.00 %	63.00 %	5	Christianity	Taabwa	0P Tabwa	1	1
Tabwa, Shila	7,800	Y●	12.00 %	90.00 %	5	Christianity	Taabwa	1	1	1
Toka	29,000	Y●	7.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Tonga	0P Toka	1	1
Tonga, Zambezi	2,504,000	Y●	27.00 %	94.00 %	5	Christianity	Tonga	0P Tonga, Zambezi	1	1
Totela	2,100	Y●	6.00 %	45.00 %	4	Ethnic Religions	Totela	1	1	1
Tumbuka	542,000		20.00 %	87.00 %	5	Christianity	Tumbuka	0P Tumbuka	0M Tumbuka of Zambia	0T
Tumbuka, Yombe	3,800	Y●	3.00 %	90.00 %	4	Christianity	Tumbuka	1	1	1
Unga	47,000	Y●	21.00 %	95.00 %	5	Christianity	Bemba	1	1	1
Yao, Muslim	5,100		1.00 %	3.00 %	1	Islam	Yao	0P Yao, Muslim	1	0T
Yauma	13,000		7.00 %	80.00 %	4	Christianity	Yauma	1	0M Yauma of Zambia	0T
Total People Groups: 74	18,887,000	54			4			41	6	16
Unclassified / Other Individuals	34,000
UN Country Population (2021)	18,921,000

Zambia –

% of People Groups ^[1]

% of Population in People Group ^{[1] [2]}

Progress Level		Peoples	% of Peoples	Population	% of Population ^[2]
	1 - Unreached	4	5.4 %	100,000	0.5 %
	2 - Minimally reached	2	2.7 %	23,000	0.1 %
	3 - Superficially reached	5	6.8 %	179,000	0.9 %
	4 - Partially reached	19	25.7 %	1,018,000	5.4 %
	5 - Significantly reached	44	59.5 %	17,567,000	93.0 %
Totals		74		18,887,000

NOTES:

Small Values: Values less than .3% are not shown on pie charts for labeling clarity.
% of Population in People Group: The percentage of the population that lives in a people group at each progress level. Not every person living in an unreached people group is necessarily unreached.

Zambia – People Photos * Note: Only people groups with photos available are displayed here.*

Afrikaner 104,000	Arab, Lebanese 3,900	Aushi 190,000	Bemba 5,043,000	British 13,000	French 7,800
Greek 11,000	Gujarati 44,000	Han Chinese, Mandarin 52,000	Ila 185,000	Italian 13,000	© Copyrighted Photo Jew, English-speaking 3,500
Kxoe, Xun 200	Lala-Bisa 746,000	Lamba 377,000	Lambya, Rambia 19,000	Lenje 243,000	Lozi 1,186,000
Luchazi 56,000	Lunda, Northwest 428,000	Luvale 325,000	Mambwe-Lungu 394,000	Masi 36,000	Mbukushu 11,000
Mbunda 158,000	Ndebele 15,000	Nkoya, Lambya 67,000	Nsenga 770,000	Nyamwanga 257,000	Nyanja, Chewa 1,915,000
© Copyrighted Photo Nyiha, Tanzania 778,000	Portuguese 5,400	Serb 5,200	Shona 42,000	Soli 65,000	Swahili 47,000
© Copyrighted Photo Tabwa 52,000	Toka 29,000	Tonga, Zambezi 2,504,000	Tumbuka 542,000	Yao, Muslim 5,100
Zambia People Photos * Note: Only people groups with photos available are displayed here.*

Zambia – Languages

(Click headings for sorting

)

Language (click Language name for details)	Language Code	# Peoples Primary Language	# Unreached Primary Language	Bible Status	Bible Locator	Audio NT Online	Jesus Film Online	Audio Recordings Online	Gospel Tract Online
Afrikaans	afr	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	0
Arabic, North Levantine Spoken	apc	1	0	Portions	0	1	1	0	1
Aushi	auh	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Bemba	bem	6	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Bwile	bwc	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Chichewa	nya	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Chinese, Mandarin	cmn	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Chokwe	cjk	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
English	eng	2	1	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
French	fra	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Greek	ell	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Gujarati	guj	1	1	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Ila	ilb	1	0	NT	0	1	0	0	1
Italian	ita	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Kaonde	kqn	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Khwedam	xuu	1	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Kuhane	sbs	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	0	1
Kunda	kdn	1	0	NT	0	0	0	1	1
Lala-Bisa	leb	5	0	NT	0	1	0	1	1
Lamba	lam	2	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Lambya	lai	1	0	NT	0	0	0	0	1
Lenje	leh	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Lozi	loz	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Luchazi	lch	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Lunda	lun	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Luvale	lue	1	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Luyana	lyn	1	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Mambwe-Lungu	mgr	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Mashi	mho	1	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Mbowe	mxo	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Mbukushu	mhw	1	0	NT	0	1	0	0	1
Mbunda	mck	1	0	Complete	0	1	1	0	1
Ndebele	nde	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Nkoya	nka	2	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Nsenga	nse	1	0	NT	0	1	1	1	1
Nyamwanga	mwn	2	0	Complete	0	1	0	0	1
Nyiha, Tanzania	nih	1	0	NT	0	1	0	0	1
Nyika	nkv	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Portuguese	por	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Sala	shq	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	0	1
Serbian	srp	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Shona	sna	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Simaa	sie	4	0	Portions	0	1	0	0	1
Soli	sby	1	0	NT	0	1	0	0	1
Swahili	swh	1	1	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Swahili, Congo	swc	1	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Taabwa	tap	2	0	NT	0	0	1	0	1
Tonga	toi	3	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	0
Totela	ttl	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Tumbuka	tum	3	0	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Yao	yao	1	1	Complete	0	0	0	0	1
Yauma	yax	1	0	Portions	0	1	1	0	1
Zambian Sign Language	zsl	1	0	Trans Needed	1	1	1	1	1
Totals:	53	74	4		45	25	40	44	15

Zambia –

Major Religions ^{[1] [3]}

Evangelicals: 25.1 %
(subset of Christianity)

Christianity Segments ^{[2] [3]}

(Evangelicals distributed across
Christianity Segments)

% Evangelical and % Professing Christian Trends ^[4]

NOTES:

Major Religions: Each People Group's population is multiplied by the Major Religion percentages for that people group. Results are summed for each Religion for all Peoples within the country.
Christianity Segments: Each People Group's population is multiplied by the Christianity Segments percentages for that people group. Results are summed for each Christianity Segment for all peoples within the country.
Small Values: Values less than .3% are not shown on pie charts for labeling clarity.
% Evangelical and % Professing Christian Trends: Source Operation World Editions 1986, 1993, 2001, 2010.
Zero percent data values may mean unknown or unavailable.

Zambia – Possible Ministry Involvement

Below are lists of ministries that may work in Zambia. Ministries in the Zambia section probably minister in this country. Ministries in the Africa, East and Southern section only possibly minister in this country. The purpose of this information is to assist potential new missionaries connect with sending agencies and for general ministry networking. Click on the links below to visit ministry websites for further information. Visit the Power-Of-Connecting "Find a Network Tool" to find further networking information.
The lists below do not include all ministries at work in this country or region. There are likely many excellent ministries not listed here. Omissions are not intentional, but occur simply from lack of data. Please contact us to suggest other ministries to include here. Inclusion here is not an endorsement by Joshua Project.

Ministries in Zambia

Ministries in Africa, East and Southern

(Click headings for sorting

)

(Click headings for sorting

)

Country Level Ministries	Size
Action International Ministries	Medium
Baptist International Outreach	Medium
Baptist World Aid, Australia	Small
Brethren in Christ World Missions	Medium
Christian Brethren Assemblies	Large
Church of God, Anderson, Indiana	Medium
Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee	Medium
Dorothea Mission	Medium
Global Partners / Wesleyan World Missions	Medium
Gospel Fellowship Association	Medium
Gospelink, Incorporated	Medium
Grace Ministries International	Medium
I. N. Network	Medium
International Partnership Ministries	Medium
International Pentecostal Holiness Church	Medium
Ireland Outreach International	Small
Liebenzell Mission International	Medium
LifeWind	Medium
Map International	Medium
Missionary Ventures International	Medium
Navigators, International Missions Group	Medium
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada	Medium
TEAR Australia	Medium
TearFund Switzerland	Small
TearFund UK	Large
Teen Missions International	Medium
Walk Thru the Bible Ministries	Medium
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, World Missions	Small
Women to the World	Small
Ministries Listed: 29

Regional Level Ministries	Size
ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism)	Large
Advancing Renewal Ministries, Inc.	Medium
Anglican Frontier Missions	Small
Assemblies of God World Missions	Large
Association of Free Lutheran Congregations, World Missions	Medium
Awana Clubs, International	Medium
Baptist Bible Fellowship, International	Medium
Baptist International Missions, Inc. (BIMI)	Medium
Baptist Mid-Missions	Medium
BCM International	Medium
Bible League	Medium
Campus Crusade for Christ, International	Large
Child Evangelism Fellowship	Medium
Church of God of Prophecy	Medium
Church of the Nazarene World Mission Department	Medium
Church World Service	Medium
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship	Medium
EFCA International Mission	Medium
EQUIP Foundation	Small
Evangelical Covenant Church	Medium
Every Home for Christ	Medium
Final Frontiers Foundation	Large
Free Methodist World Missions	Medium
Friends in Action, International	Small
Galcom International	Small
Globe International	Medium
GO International	Small
Go Ye Fellowship	Medium
Good News Productions	Medium
Heart of God Ministries	Medium
Hope for the Hungry	Medium
InterComm	Small
Iris Ministries, Inc.	Medium
Josue Yrion World Evangelism and Missions	Small
Mailbox Club International	Small
Middle East Media	Medium
Open Bible Churches	Small
Overland Missions	Small
Pentecostal Church of God World Missions	Small
Scripture Union	Medium
Seventh-day Adventists General Conference	Medium
Silent Word Ministries	Small
Southern Baptist Convention - International Mission Board	Large
Talking Bibles International	Small
Team Expansion	Medium
Tentmakers International	Small
United Methodist Church	Medium
United Pentecostal Church Foreign Missions	Medium
United World Mission	Medium
Worldwide Tentmakers, Incorporated	Small
Young Life	Medium
Youth with a Mission	Large
Ministries Listed: 52

Zambia – Statistics, Prayer Cards, Maps and Links


Statistics

Population	18,887,000
Percent Urbanization	44 %
Total People Groups	74
Unreached People Groups	4
Region	Africa, East and Southern
10/40 Window	No
Official National Language	English
Primary Religion	Christianity
Percent Professing Christian	86.8% ^[1]
Percent Evangelical	25.1% ^[2]
Country Progress Level	5
Persecution Ranking	Not ranked (1=High to 50=Low OD)
Human Development Index	0.579 (0=Low to 1=High UN)

Links

State Department Religious Freedom Report

Notes

[1] Calculated by summing the major religion data for the people groups in the country.

[2] Calculated by summing the Evangelical data for the people groups in the country.


Prayer Cards

	All Unreached

Maps

Political Map (UN)
Language Map (Ethnologue)
Perry-Castaneda Map Collection



Prayercast Video



More great prayer resources at Prayercast